Catalans Dragons vs Hull KR Predictions: 4/1 shot can see leaders roll on

OK, so Jordan Abdull might be out injured and unable to play against his parent club, but Saturday’s clash between Catalans Dragons and Hull Kingston Rovers at the Stade Gilbert Brutus (kick-off 17:30 BST) retains a level of fascination due to the positive starts both clubs have made to the season.

The Dragons currently top the Betfred Super League after seven rounds, while Rovers are just two points adrift of their opponents and last week qualified for the Betfred Challenge Cup semi-finals with victory over holders Leigh Leopards.

Team News

For Catalans, the glaring omission is Abdull, whose early exit from the 14-8 win over St Helens two weeks ago was the one of two pieces of bad news on a day when the Dragons went to the tip of Super League.

The other setback that day was the loss of Tom Johnstone to concussion, but after sitting out last week’s stunning 34-6 Challenge Cup defeat to Huddersfield Giants, the former Wakefield Trinity winger is back in the squad for Saturday’s match and should start.

Jayden Nikorima is again likely to deputise Abdull in the halves, with Arthur Mourgue continuing at full-back.

For Rovers, Sauaso Sue banned for one match after a dangerous tackle against Leigh, but Sam Luckley returns after his own suspension.

Oliver Gildart is back having missed the last three after a nasty head knock in the Challenge Cup sixth-round win over Salford Red Devils. And there’s great news for coach Willie Peters as prop George King returns to the squad way ahead of schedule after suffering a hamstring problem in the 24-12 success at Huddersfield last month.

Catalans Dragons by 6-10 points @ 4/1

Rovers don’t have the most glittering of records in Perpignan, with just two wins in their last 16 visits to the Gilbert Brutus. And even their 2011 victory their was quickly followed by a 56-6 stuffing in the end-of-season play-offs.

The trend in these fixtures has generally been for KR to hold their own for long periods but ultimately being overpowered by the home side, but Willie Peters has sought to change things up this year by taking his side out to the south of France a day ahead of most visitors in a bid to better prepare for the crunch clash.

But even without Abdull, this Catalans side looks a very dangerous beast on home territory, and with Mourgue, Nikorima, Theo Fages, Micky McIlorum and Ben Garcia populating the spine, there is more than enough creative strike to cause the visitors a few too many headaches.

Twenty of the 40 previous meetings between these two clubs have been decided by fewer than 10 points, and that could well be the case again this weekend. The 4/1 odds imply a 20% chance of a six-to-10-point win for the home side.

Arthur Mourgue anytime tryscorer @ 7/4

With three tries in six Super League appearances to date this season, Mourgue has taken on the mantle of strike weapon vacated by the newly-retired Sam Tomkins. Two of those also came at key moments in tight contests against Warrington Wolves and Hull FC, both at the Gilbert Brutus.

And the full-back may be the game-breaker once more on Saturday. While Tom Johnstone, Tom Davies and Fouad Yaha are all odds-on to cross the line at some point, there’s better value in plumping for Mourgue, who has as many tries as Johnstone and Yaha combined in 2024.

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